Guest Students and Transferring Credit to Grand Valley

Becoming a Guest Student

A guest student is a student who is enrolled or seeking a degree at
their home institution, and would like to take a course(s) at an
institution other than where they are pursuing their degree with the
intention of transferring the courses back to their home institution.

If you are a Grand Valley student...

If you plan to take a course at another institution in Michigan
without transferring, you may be able to attend as a guest student.
Students can complete the Michigan
Undergraduate Guest Application, this will allow you to be a
guest student without having to complete an undergraduate admissions
application at the institution. Guest students are subject to all the
admission and registration regulations of the guest institution and do
not have permission to register as a degree-seeking student at the
guest institution.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

If you are a student at an institution other than Grand Valley and
would like to attend for a semester you can submit a Michigan
Undergraduate Guest Application with your home institution.
Becoming a guest student at Grand Valley allows you to take courses as
a non-degree seeking student without having to submit a separate
application to Grand Valley.

Grand Valley students should complete a guest application and submit
it to the Registrar's Office. When
completing the form, include the name of the institution, the location
of the institution, and list all courses that you plan to take at the
other institution. After you complete Part A of the form return it to
the Registrar's Office. Our office will complete Part B of the form
and send it to the institution you listed.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Students who are enrolled at another institution and would like to
take a class at Grand Valley should complete a guest application and
submit it to their school's registrar's office. While completing the
form, include Grand Valley as the name of the institution, Allendale
as the location, and list all courses you plan to take at Grand
Valley. After you complete Part A of the form return it to the home
institution's registrar, they will complete Part B of the form and
send it to Grand Valley at:

Before registering for courses at a different institution it is a
good idea for students to check with their academic advisor (if
students need help identifying their academic advisor view our
short tutorial). Students can also review Grand Valley's Course Equivalency
Guide for previously approved equivalencies. This guide will show
students all courses that have previously been evaluated for credit by
Grand Valley and what the equivalent course would be if they were to
transfer it from the guest institution to Grand Valley.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Students attending Grand Valley as a guest student are responsible
for determining if their home institution will accept credit earned as
a guest student.

Each institution determines whether they will accept the Michigan
Undergraduate Guest Application, and many do, but students should
check with the institution they would like to attend first to confirm.
Grand Valley is happy to process a guest application for any of our students.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Yes, Grand Valley will accept a Michigan Undergraduate Guest
Application from any student! If your home institution does not
complete Michigan guest applications you can also apply to Grand
Valley as a non-degree
seeking student.

Grand Valley will complete and send a guest application for a student
at any time. The student should check with the institution that they
would like to attend to confirm if they have a deadline for guest applications.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Grand Valley will accept a guest application at any time, however
students should check the academic
calendar for semester start dates. If guest applications are
processed after the last day to register, students may not be able
to register for their desired classes.

The Registrar's Office typically completes guest applications from
our students within the next business day; the application is then
mailed to the institution the student listed . The next contact will
be from the institution that the student would like to attend as a
guest, when and how that contact happens varies by institution.

Students generally need to contact the institution they plan to
attend as a guest for information about their admission and/or
registration processes.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

After we receive and process a student's application guest
students are mailed a letter with the information they will need to
register for courses. If you have any questions about the status of
your application or registration we encourage you to contact us.

Students enrolled at other institutions as a guest student, while
being a degree-seeking student at Grand Valley, are not eligible to
receive financial aid from Grand Valley. The only exception to this,
is if students are enrolled at Grand Valley, and one of our partner
institutions at the same time (visit Financial Aid's
website for more information on Concurrent Enrollment).

For more information on what other options the institution the
student plans to attend can be offered for financial aid, the student
should contact that institution’s Financial Aid Office

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Students enrolled at Grand Valley as a guest student, while being a
degree-seeking student at another institution, may be eligible for
some financial aid through their home institution. For more
information on what options your home institution can offer for
financial aid, students should contact their Financial Aid Office.

If the institution you attended sends electronic transcripts you can
request they send your official electronic transcripts to Grand Valley
at: adm-transcripts@gvsu.edu.

If you were a guest student at Grand Valley...

If you attended Grand Valley as a guest you should submit a transcript request. Transcript
requests may be submitted to the Student Assistance Center in
Allendale (150 Student Services) or the Grand Rapids Pew Campus (115C
DeVos) in person, by fax to (616) 331-2000, by email to transcripts@gvsu.edu, or by
mail to the Registrar’s Office, 150 Student Services, Allendale, MI 49401.

Students can transfer credits from another institution to Grand
Valley provided they meet one of the following criteria:

The student's cumulative transfer GPA is a 2.0 or above, and they
earned at least a "D" in the course they would like to transfer;

The student's cumulative transfer GPA is below a 2.0, and they
earned at least a "C" in the course they would like to transfer.

A student's cumulative transfer GPA is calculated based upon all
coursework transferred to Grand Valley from all other institutions. If
you would like help calculating your cumulative transfer GPA you can
contact the Registrar's Office for assistance.

Grand Valley does not limit the number of courses a student can
transfer but students will still need to fulfill all degree
requirements to be eligible for graduation. Students can view degree
requirements by accessing the online catalog and reviewing their myPath. Students that would like
to transfer courses to Grand Valley should consult with their academic
advisor (if students need help identifying their academic advisor view our
short tutorial). The Course Equivalency Guide can also be reviewed
for previously approved equivalencies.

If the course a student completed at another institution is not
listed in the Course Equivalency Guide the student may submit
a request for evaluation to the Registrar's Office. The evaluation
request should include the course description and syllabus (if
available); the Registrar's Office will then process the request for
evaluation and update the student's record accordingly.

Students who transfer to Grand Valley with the Michigan
Transfer Agreement/MACRAO
approved associate of arts or science degree from a Michigan public
community college have satisfied the Foundations of the General
Education Program and one Supplemental Writing Skills (SWS) course.
Transfer students with a MACRAO must also fulfill these general
education requirements: the two-course Cultures requirement and two
Issues courses.

Grand Valley does not limit how many credits a student can transfer
to Grand Valley. Students must meet the following requirements, in
addition to all other degree requirements, to be eligible for
graduation from Grand Valley.

Regardless of the number of transfer hours accepted by Grand Valley
from other institutions, transfer students must complete a minimum of
12 hours in the unit conferring the major (six for the minor).

Regardless of the number of transfer credits accepted by Grand Valley
from junior or community colleges, a baccalaureate degree must include
a minimum of 58 semester hours from a senior (a four-year,
degree-granting) institution.

Graduation from Grand Valley requires that the completion of the last
30 semester hours toward a baccalaureate degree must be earned at
Grand Valley or in Grand Valley programs and courses taught off campus
by Grand Valley faculty members.

Grand Valley does not transfer in grades for transfer courses.
However, courses transferred to Grand Valley may impact a students GPA
by way of replacing a grade previously earned while taking a course at
Grand Valley. If a student transfers in a course that meets the repeat
course policy, the previous grade would appear on the student's
transcript, but be excluded from the GPA calculation.

Students who have not previously repeated the course
should review the course equivalency guide to ensure the course will
transfer to Grand Valley. If the course transfers, the credit of
the most recent instance of the course will be counted toward the
student's GPA and earned hours, regardless of whether the most recent
grade is lower or higher.

Grand Valley cannot provide or produce any copy of a transcript from
another institution. If a student needs a copy of their transcript
from another institution they should contact that institution directly.

Grand Valley offers many different financial aid and scholarship
options for our students. If you typically utilize federal aid, you
will have to add Grand Valley to your FAFSA (school code #002268). You
can only receive federal financial aid at one institution at a
time. If you have been awarded financial aid at your previous
institution for the term you are transferring in, please contact them
to cancel that financial aid award. For additional information
regarding financial aid, please contact the Office of
Financial Aid & Scholarships.

Our merit scholarship opportunities for incoming
transfer students can be found online. These scholarships are
automatically awarded to eligible students at the time of admission to
Grand Valley. We also have institutional scholarship opportunities
that you can apply for, once you have been admitted, through our
database called myScholarships.